From organizing a private gala for leading investors, to introducing his own ‘meme coin‘ just before taking office, and enacting the first US legislation on digital assets, Trump’s presidency has been more closely linked to cryptocurrency than any of his predecessors.
Cryptocurrencies, or cryptos, are digital tokens that use cryptography for security. They are largely unregulated and typically not backed by any underlying asset.
Chris Brycki, CEO of investment platform Stockspot, told ABC that cryptocurrencies are highly speculative and volatile, with their value largely driven by short-term market sentiment.
Breaking down Trump’s cryptocurrency earnings
The White House states that since taking office, the president has distanced himself from his business activities, with his assets now held in a trust overseen by his children. It is difficult to understand how much has been converted to liquid cash against how much is locked or on paper.
According to the ABC website, World Liberty Financial (WLFI), a cryptocurrency company largely owned by Trump family interests, announced in March that it had raised $550 million ($840 million) through the sale of its governance tokens, $WLFI, across two separate offerings.
Days before his inauguration, Mr Trump made headlines by launching a “meme coin,” a type of cryptocurrency inspired by internet memes, jokes, or cultural trends, similar to Dogecoin. The $TRUMP meme coin was launched just three days before Mr. Trump’s presidential inauguration.
He released a total of 1 billion $TRUMP meme coins, with 20 percent offered to the public through an initial coin offering (ICO) and the remaining 80 percent retained by Trump-affiliated entities.
Reuters reported that crypto-related entities linked to the US president earned nearly $100 million in $TRUMP trading fees in less than two weeks after its launch. Trump Media and Technology Group (Trump Media) revealed that it had acquired roughly $2 billion in Bitcoin and Bitcoin-related securities.
According to Forbes‘s 2025 World’s Billionaires List, Trump’s net worth is $US5.1 billion, from $US2.3 billion in 2024.
The US president’s business activities during his time in office have faced intense global media scrutiny, including from ABC’s Americas editor John Lyons, who was recently reprimanded by Trump for raising questions on the matter. Democrats have criticized the legislation, arguing that it effectively gives Mr. Trump the green light to continue profiting from cryptocurrency.